SandJ Information Services Limited
Useful Data - GIS & GPS information
GIS
Essay response:
>>> RICHARD ALEXANDER 14/07/2005 09:48:39 >>>
"hi, thanks for the missive...I'll read it in more detail at leisure, but one good reason for at least doing some stuff in-house (e.g. oracle warehousing) is that it's a good excuse to divert planning and other funds into central ICT to develop a corporate "layer" of information handling...and on the whole we support this because ICT are under-resourced but, yes, at some point the whole information engine is going to have mesh with other governmental information engines and that may be the point when it all goes outside including any "spatial intelligence" we have gathered and maintain."
My response:
I don't get excited about technology. I do get excited - very rarely - about ways in which computers can be used to improve the human condition by allowing improved dissemination or propagation of information for the benefit of individuals or society as a whole. I am a firm believer in opposing censorship, dismantling propaganda, attacking lies and deceits with facts and educating and informing the general public.
A ham radio enthusiast informed the world of Argentina's attack on the Falklands. Usenet informed the world about Tiananmen Square. The NHS Helpline allows people to anonymously get advice on any health subject without fear of being traced. The Australian who reported a middle-of-the-night shop burglary to the UK Police because she was watching the break-in on a web cam. This is the sort of stuff I find exciting.
I am utterly convinced GIS is going to bring a new medium to humanity. I don't know how. All I do know is that it isn't there yet.
The example queries I gave in my missive are not the right ones. To answer those requires expert knowledge of how to use a GIS tool. Just as knowing SQL was supposed to make any database wide open to everyone, the reality is that only trained experts with proper documentation of what they are looking at can make use of the technology.
What we need is something that your average chav can comprehend. Directions to Domino's Pizza aren't it - they get them delivered. I had thought integration with GPS was going to be it but that is seen as too anorak by the public. Geocaching anyone? I was sure that would catch on. Hey ho. I thought using mobile phones as gaming devices - hunt your friend down in the city Matrix-style - would catch on. I am an ardent gaming club member, maybe that's why I misjudged that one - I'm too anorak too.
GIS is about getting information relevant to a location to individuals. There must, surely, be some sort of application for this that is fun and marketable.
>>> RICHARD ALEXANDER 14/07/2005 11:06:47 >>>
"I find human beings bizarre - bet there are thousands of people all over
the world browsing, watching and even enjoying completely pointless,
static webcams of shops, streets etc. Still...more interesting than big brother."
>>> SIMON REED 14/07/2005 11:19:55 >>>
How about ... webcams on wheels!!!
I spent about four hours controlling some Mars Rover devices over the internet a few months back. Great fun. Each is fitted with a web cam and you get to drive them by giving instructions regarding the time to drive the motors for and at what speed.
You can download the plan and build one yourself out of Lego. Build a Martian (or whatever) landscape with rocks, sand, etc. and bung it in. Then people all round the world can play at being NASA ground control bods remotely driving your exploration vehicle. It is seriously addictive.
Compare the educational content of that with GCE O Level Geography. I hated Geography - an utterly dull, dull, dull and pointless dullness with occasional morbidity for interest.
So, do you want a copy of my active desktop? It's attached ... just scroll down to see the pictures. I bet you keep returning to it ...
I must show you my Tupperware collection some time. By the way, the Youth Hostel Association shops are the best place to buy anoraks. Cheap, waterproof, elasticated cuffs, wire lined hood you can shape to stay in place and with good, sensible sized pockets.
<cue music>
There's no people
As happy as people
Who don't need people ....
[active desktop link]
>>> RICHARD ALEXANDER 14/07/2005 09:48:39 >>>
"hi, thanks for the missive...I'll read it in more detail at leisure, but one good reason for at least doing some stuff in-house (e.g. oracle warehousing) is that it's a good excuse to divert planning and other funds into central ICT to develop a corporate "layer" of information handling...and on the whole we support this because ICT are under-resourced but, yes, at some point the whole information engine is going to have mesh with other governmental information engines and that may be the point when it all goes outside including any "spatial intelligence" we have gathered and maintain."
My response:
I don't get excited about technology. I do get excited - very rarely - about ways in which computers can be used to improve the human condition by allowing improved dissemination or propagation of information for the benefit of individuals or society as a whole. I am a firm believer in opposing censorship, dismantling propaganda, attacking lies and deceits with facts and educating and informing the general public.
A ham radio enthusiast informed the world of Argentina's attack on the Falklands. Usenet informed the world about Tiananmen Square. The NHS Helpline allows people to anonymously get advice on any health subject without fear of being traced. The Australian who reported a middle-of-the-night shop burglary to the UK Police because she was watching the break-in on a web cam. This is the sort of stuff I find exciting.
I am utterly convinced GIS is going to bring a new medium to humanity. I don't know how. All I do know is that it isn't there yet.
The example queries I gave in my missive are not the right ones. To answer those requires expert knowledge of how to use a GIS tool. Just as knowing SQL was supposed to make any database wide open to everyone, the reality is that only trained experts with proper documentation of what they are looking at can make use of the technology.
What we need is something that your average chav can comprehend. Directions to Domino's Pizza aren't it - they get them delivered. I had thought integration with GPS was going to be it but that is seen as too anorak by the public. Geocaching anyone? I was sure that would catch on. Hey ho. I thought using mobile phones as gaming devices - hunt your friend down in the city Matrix-style - would catch on. I am an ardent gaming club member, maybe that's why I misjudged that one - I'm too anorak too.
GIS is about getting information relevant to a location to individuals. There must, surely, be some sort of application for this that is fun and marketable.
>>> RICHARD ALEXANDER 14/07/2005 11:06:47 >>>
"I find human beings bizarre - bet there are thousands of people all over
the world browsing, watching and even enjoying completely pointless,
static webcams of shops, streets etc. Still...more interesting than big brother."
>>> SIMON REED 14/07/2005 11:19:55 >>>
How about ... webcams on wheels!!!
I spent about four hours controlling some Mars Rover devices over the internet a few months back. Great fun. Each is fitted with a web cam and you get to drive them by giving instructions regarding the time to drive the motors for and at what speed.
You can download the plan and build one yourself out of Lego. Build a Martian (or whatever) landscape with rocks, sand, etc. and bung it in. Then people all round the world can play at being NASA ground control bods remotely driving your exploration vehicle. It is seriously addictive.
Compare the educational content of that with GCE O Level Geography. I hated Geography - an utterly dull, dull, dull and pointless dullness with occasional morbidity for interest.
So, do you want a copy of my active desktop? It's attached ... just scroll down to see the pictures. I bet you keep returning to it ...
I must show you my Tupperware collection some time. By the way, the Youth Hostel Association shops are the best place to buy anoraks. Cheap, waterproof, elasticated cuffs, wire lined hood you can shape to stay in place and with good, sensible sized pockets.
<cue music>
There's no people
As happy as people
Who don't need people ....
[active desktop link]
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